+++
title = "Reflective Post"
date = 2022-01-31
+++

About
=====

I want to make this an annual thing. I already have my regular blob
posts, but here I will answer a series of questions based on a
questionnaire I had answered in the past.

I think I see some typos from the previous years, but I\'ll let those go
for now...

Reflections
===========

> Is your job confusing? Do you ever ask questions about what you need
> to do at work?

I ask questions, but I don\'t have any specific or general confusion.
Most of the work I have done over the last year I would describe as
as-needed, as-assigned, or ad-hoc. But for the vast majority, I enjoy
the tasks I have to work on and I know how to do the work I have been
assigned to.

> What training did you participate in this year? In what ways was it
> helpful?

The most significant thing, I participated in exercises on
cleancoders.com, some of which are also on YouTube for gratis. Robert
Martin, their spokesperson, is one of the most influential software
engineers/developers in the world. Doing these exercises has had a
positive effect on my architectural choices over the last year. I get a
lot out of helping my peers and critiquing their code, but working on
exercises and watching others code with vastly different or more
experience gives me a well rounded perspective.

> During the past year, what parts of your work gave you the most
> satisfaction? What have you found challenging?

Sometimes these are the same thing. Some of the code I maintain I wrote
five or more years ago. The challenging part, which is also fun, happens
when I try to figure out how to make the best positive change in the
shortest amount of time. Sometimes this leaves out a better change that
might have taken more time. Making these decisions is probably one of
the things in my job that I have the most autonomy over.

In some cases, these decisions involve an open source project that I
wish had a feature that it lacked. So in my own time, again this is
something I have autonomy over, I have been able to implement those
features or discuss with the developers of those projects to implement
them.

> What would help you to work more collaboratively in your work
> environment?

If I think back over the last year and the year before, the direct
collaboration has absolutely increased when it comes to python
development. We have a weekly check-in meeting, effectively a stand-up
meeting, directly related to collaborating on the same, shared, or
related projects with our integrations and web APIs. More of this
collaboration, cross-training, and stand-up meetings would help.

> When you need direction or information, are you able to get the help
> you need?

When it comes to business knowledge, overwhelmingly, yes, I can get the
help I need. The folks I work with almost always have the missing pieces
when I need to know more.

> Are there aspects to the job you feel you need to work on?

There is always room for self-improvement. Off-the-clock, I am active in
the free software/open source community and the local academic
community. I spend a lot of my time keeping up on new trends, but I also
focus on the solid foundations of computing such as those that came out
of the 1950s.

In terms of the time spent on-the-clock, time for focusing on tasks and
cross-training can both improve quality by reducing distractions and
diversifying perspectives. There are still some duties of mine that only
I work on, so it would be nice to work together to see some of those
benefits.

> What goals and objectives do you have for your job or for future
> development for the coming year?

Again, I still plan on eventually re-pursuing a PhD in computer science,
once things settle down a bit. 2020 and 2021 have been very atypical
years.
